Chapter 112: Kirihara Arisu (3)

I arrived home, dropped my bag, and flopped onto my bed. The bed creaked, but I was too preoccupied to care.

“Ugh… What am I supposed to do…?”

I flailed my arms and legs in the air, my mind replaying the scene of Aya and Arisu’s confrontation.

Should I just pretend I didn’t see anything and watch their power struggle unfold…? For three whole years?!

Someone might end up in the hospital with a nervous breakdown. Why did Arisu even want to join the student council…?

“Ugh…”

Making up… That was the best solution. But Aya wouldn’t open her heart easily, and Arisu was determined to get revenge, even if it meant using me. And then there were the tangled misunderstandings between them…
I groaned and buried my face in my pillow.

“This is so complicated…”

As I wallowed in my worries, my LINE notification went off. I grabbed my phone irritably and checked the message.

Miyu: Rina~! Want to go to the aquarium?
Miyu: [Aquarium Couple Tickets]

Eh… My cousin?

Rina: With you, unni? This weekend?
Miyu: No (｡•́ – •̀｡) I was planning to go to Japan and go with you, Rina-chan, but something came up.
Miyu: Waaah…
Rina: Don’t cry!
Rina: Can I go with a friend then?
Miyu: Friend? Rina-chan’s girlfriend?! A date?!

The word “girlfriend” (kanojo) felt like a punch to the gut. Of course, only one person came to mind…

Miyu: Take lots of pictures and send me one!
Miyu: Hehe, she’s pretty, that friend of yours.
Rina: Sure… I’ll send you a picture.

My cousin also had a thing for tall, busty girls with silver hair and blue eyes.
So, I suddenly had a pair of aquarium couple tickets.

‘With Aya…’

My face flushed, and I buried it in my pillow.

“No, no, get a grip, Rina! …But what about Mizuki?”

Normally, the three of us would go together… but this time… I really wanted to go with Aya alone.

A cozy date, just the two of us…
Special memories with Aya at the romantic aquarium…

I bit my lip.

That’s right.

‘What was I even worrying about?’

The thought of the aquarium date made me forget something. I’d been worrying about something important…

Aya… Arisu…

‘Ugh… I’ll think about the date first!’

I buried my face in my pillow again and wiggled my feet excitedly.

****

Fridays were always enjoyable. The weekend was approaching, and since Respect for the Aged Day (September 15th) fell on a Monday this year, we had a three-day weekend!

I hummed happily as I walked to school and met Aya at our usual halfway point.

“Aya~!”
“Rina, did you sleep well?”
“Yeah! Hey, Aya, want to go to the aquarium tomorrow?”
“Aquarium?”

Aya tilted her head, looking intrigued.

“Yeah, just the two of us!”

I nodded, holding up two fingers in a V-sign, and Aya smiled. But her smile was quickly replaced by a worried frown.

“Without Mizuki? She’ll be upset.”
“Eeeh… What should I do? Should I get another ticket?”

Maybe it wasn’t right to go without Mizuki… She was Aya’s longtime friend, and it felt wrong to leave her out…

“Let’s talk to Mizuki when we see her!”
“Hmm… Okay.”

Aya smiled faintly and took my hand.

As we walked to school, hand in hand, basking in the morning sun, we met Mizuki at our usual meeting spot. Mizuki was smiling brightly, waving her hand.

“Rina-tan~! Aya-ring~! Good morning!”
“Good morning, Mizuki!”

She seemed even more cheerful than usual, probably excited about the long weekend.

“Hehe, it’s a three-day weekend~! What should we do?”
“I don’t know… I don’t have any plans yet. What about you, Mizuki?”
“Hmm… I haven’t thought about it yet, but I was thinking we could go out and eat something delicious~?”

Right, it was better to go with Mizuki. I’d have to throw away the extra ticket or buy another one for Mizuki.

“Then how about we go to the aquarium together? I got tickets from my cousin.”
“Really?! That’s awesome~! Should we all go to the aquarium together?”

Mizuki cheered at the mention of the aquarium.
Yeah, it would be fun to go with Mizuki too!

****

My plan to buy another ticket was thwarted yet again. It was free time during P.E. class, and everyone was relaxing.
I was chatting with Aya and Mizuki when Mizuki suddenly checked her phone and frowned.

“Ugh… Seriously? I can’t hang out this weekend.”
“Huh? What’s wrong, Mizuki?”
“Something came up at home… My grandfather wants to see me. It looks like I’ll have to spend the long weekend with my family.”

It was a good thing I hadn’t bought another ticket yet.

“Ah… I wanted to go to the aquarium, but it looks like it’ll just be the two of us, Rina.”
“Yeah…”

Aya knew that Mizuki often had family obligations, so she patted Mizuki’s shoulder gently.

“It’s okay, Mizuki. We’ll hang out next time.”
“Thanks, Aya.”

Just as we were making plans for another time, a group of students from Class 2 came over to our class.

“Hey, guys~! Want to play a game of dodgeball? Ten versus ten!”
“What do you say? We’re confident we can win.”

Our class had Aya, Mizuki… and me as our aces, while Class 2 seemed to have a lot of good players. We’d won against them in the volleyball assessment last time, but they were tough competition.

But then…
I saw Arisu standing behind the student who’d challenged us.
The moment our eyes met, Aya’s expression hardened. Arisu wasn’t wearing her usual languid expression. Instead, she had a provocative smile on her face as she looked at Aya and me.

“Sure. Let’s play.”

Aya’s voice was calm as she accepted the challenge. The class representative nodded. And so… the dodgeball match between Class 2 and Class 3 began.

“Haa… haa…”

Not long after the game started, it had become a battle between the aces. Mizuki had stayed in the back from the beginning, and each time Aya and Arisu threw the ball, players from both teams were eliminated rapidly.

Somehow, it was down to just Aya and me on our side, and Arisu on the other.

A strange tension filled the gymnasium.
Arisu gripped the ball in one hand and smiled at me provocatively.

“I’m going to get you, Rina.”
“Ugh…”

I flinched and took a step back at Arisu’s cold gaze.
Then Aya stepped in front of me, protectively shielding me.

“Aya…?”
“It’s okay, Rina. I’ll protect you.”

Aya looked straight at Arisu and said coldly,

“Come on, Kirihara. Don’t lay a finger on Rina.”
“…Hmph, I wasn’t planning to.”

Arisu’s expression darkened. She moved swiftly, throwing the ball hard at me.

Whoosh—!

“Eek…!”

I instinctively reached out to catch the ball, but Aya intercepted it before it could reach me.

“Are you alright, Rina?”
“Y-Yeah, thanks, Aya…”

Aya straightened up and glared at Arisu.

“I told you not to touch Rina.”

Arisu bit her lip, her gaze fixed on Aya.

“As expected… of Yukikawa.”

Aya gripped the ball and threw it hard at Arisu. Arisu dodged easily, caught a stray ball, and aimed for me again. But Aya, without missing a beat, intercepted the ball, protecting me once more.

This was… no longer a game of dodgeball. It felt like a duel between the two of them.
The tension between them, with me caught in the middle, was suffocating.
And… I couldn’t deny that I was happy to have Aya protecting me.

“I’ll get you next time, Rina.”

Arisu said, her eyes still fixed on me. Was this what it meant to kill someone with a stare? Her gaze was terrifying.

“…Alright. Here I come.”

The ball went back and forth three times before Aya easily caught a weakened throw. She glanced at Mizuki.

“We’re not alone, you know.”

Aya passed the ball to Mizuki, and Mizuki, grinning, threw it immediately.
Even with Arisu’s athleticism, she couldn’t dodge a surprise attack from her blind spot.

“Out!”
“Yay~!”
“Class 3 wins! Long live Asakura! Long live Yukikawa!”
“Tsk… We lost.”

Amidst cheers and groans, our class won the game.